For the past six years the team at Nanotechnology Now has tracked the thousands of websites, individuals, businesses, and government and educational institutions that exist in the nanospace. We read about and report on them every day, 365 days a year. By interviewing them, and covering their news, opinions, discoveries, triumphs and failures, we have come to appreciate a few above the rest.

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Nano-filters for groundwater H2O Innovation has signed a contract worth US$360,000 with the Manitoba Department of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs to install and commission a nanofiltration membrane system to treat the groundwater used to supply the community of Cormorant. The system will reduce high levels of hardness, total dissolved solids and trihalomethane, and will also eliminate iron, bacteria and viruses in the water.

New adsorption process makes headway in the United States SORB 33TM is the name of a process that uses Bayoxide® E33 granules to remove arsenic from drinking water. It has been developed by Severn Trent Services in cooperation with Bayer Chemicals, and is now about to make a breakthrough in the United States. The heart of SORB 33TM is a fixed bed, through which the contaminated water flows. The bed consists of iron hydroxide granules - Bayoxide® E33 - which have been specially developed for Severn Trent by Bayer Chemicals. The granules have very finely structured surfaces in the nano range, which adsorb the arsenic.

Nanomaterial overcomes weather woes in bid to save scorched land A nanomaterial-based compound designed to reclaim land lost to forest fires is getting its first major workout in challenging weather. A fire caused by lightning last month scorched more than 5,000 acres of forest and the Taos Pueblo Native American tribe's Encebado Mountain. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) selected Sequoia's patent-pending nanoengineered organic material to drop on 1,400 acres of charred land. The agency hopes the material will bind to the soil to protect it from erosion and stimulate growth. SoilSET was first field tested in 2002 on a California burn area from the Trough Fire in Mendocino National Forest. According to an official report from the U.S. Forest Service after application, SoilSET "prevented erosion on moderate to steep slopes . . . ", "withstood high summer temperatures and solar radiation . . ." and "did not dissipate with the first fall rains." SoilSET has previously been used for soil stabilization on public land applications, construction sites, mining reclamation and other projects.

Nanoscale Iron Could Help Cleanse the Environment An ultrafine, "nanoscale" powder made from iron, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, is turning out to be a remarkably effective tool for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater--a trillion-dollar problem that encompasses more than 1000 still-untreated Superfund sites in the United States, some 150,000 underground storage tank releases, and a staggering number of landfills, abandoned mines, and industrial sites.

Nissan Order Nanotechnology Batteries from Ener1 AZoM September 03, 2003 Ener1 have just received an order from Nissan Motor Co for the provision of lithium-ion electrodes for use in their hybrid vehicles. The electrodes are based on a new lithium battery concept that involves a nano-structured process. The resultant batteries increase battery discharge rates by up to 25 times and also increase cycle life. Furthermore, they are expected to weigh less and require less space.

Promising New Cancer Test Could Save Lives One out of every six men in America today will eventually get prostate cancer, and it is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among American men. But a new test can pinpoint prostate and other cancers early, and with great accuracy. Chemist Chad Mirkin from Northwestern University has found a fast and accurate way to test for prostate cancer. His highly sensitive equipment measures tiny amounts of a special protein in the blood called PSA, or prostate specific antigen.

Israeli Secret Service approves USGA cockpit security door The Guardian Anti-Ballistic Cockpit Security Door made by US Global Aerospace Inc. of Carson City has passed "all advanced and special tests in great success, and it complies with the highest and unique requirements of the Israeli Secret Service," officials have announced.

US Global Aerospace Introduces Nanofilters US Global Aerospace, Inc. introduced a new line of virus and pathogen Nanofilters™ for aircraft Environmental Control Systems (ECS) and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems for hospitals and buildings. US Global's Nanofilters™ are designed to capture viruses as small as those responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and airborne pathogens such as Anthrax.

EMFP Production of 2H Nano-Enhanced Environmental Face Masks Emergency Filtration Products today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Weise Labs Inc. for the production of its 2H Nano-Enhanced Environmental Masks. The terms of the agreement call for the initial production of 500,000 units by the end of May 2003.

Kopin's early success with LEDs bolsters bottom line John C.C. Fan always likes to have a few dishes cooking at the same time. That's why he divided up the workings of his company, Kopin Corp., into several different product lines. First came low-power transistors for wireless devices; next came miniature display screens for camcorders, cell phones and other handheld devices. Last summer Fan introduced Kopin's latest entrée: a light-emitting diode that exploits nanotechnology to generate more light with less power.

Spiderman Becomes a Reality at The University of Manchester Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new type of adhesive, which mimics the mechanism employed by geckos to climb surfaces, including glass ceilings. Researchers within the newly opened Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology at the University have been working on the new adhesive since 2001, after learning the mechanism of gecko's climbing skills from biophysicists.

Nano-coated implants cut MRI scan dangers Biophan's new coating is made from a mixture of poorly conducting nanoparticles held in an insulating matrix. At less than three micrometres thick, the coating is designed to act like a mirror. It reflects most of frequencies of MRI radio waves that hit it and with a resistance in the millions of megaohms, any currents induced in it are tiny.

Kodak and Dupont launch an OLED brand land grab Made of nanostructured polymer films, OLED screens emit their own light and are lighter, smaller and more energy efficient than conventional liquid crystal displays. To marketing and branding experts, the fact that three Fortune 500 heavyweights are vying to make OLED technology a consumer proposition suggests that the market for next generation nano-powered displays will be a real contest. According to research firm DisplaySearch, the market for OLED displays will grow from $112 million worldwide in 2002 to $3.1 billion by 2007.

QDC and JPL announce development of quantum dot lateral flow assay The development, based on research conducted at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in collaboration with QDC, improves the sensitivity of "rapid tests" such as the home pregnancy test, which is one of the most expanding areas of clinical diagnostics. LFAs are also used for various other clinical, agricultural and environmental applications, including detection of pathogens, allergens, and drugs-of-abuse.

Altair's Nano-Sized Zirconium Oxide for Dental Applications Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. announced that commercial nano-sized zirconium oxide is available for dental applications including fillings and prosthetic devices. Altair's president, Dr. Rudi E. Moerck, said, "Nano-sized zirconium oxide is ideal for dental applications because of its strength and transparency to light, but it is opaque to x-rays, making it an excellent material for UV-cured dental fillings."

Biofriendly and Hellenic Petroleum Sign Agreement Biofriendly Corporation announced today that it has reached an agreement with Hellenic Petroleum to treat refined fuel in the country of Cyprus. Hellenic, which operates a subsidiary in Cyprus, will sell fuel treated with Biofriendly's Green Plus liquid combustion catalyst. Green Plus employs nanotechnology to achieve a combination of improved fuel economy and reduced emissions. Green Plus is a liquid combustion catalyst that is added in very small quantities to fuel in order to create a more complete, cooler and more linear burn.

PPG's $300 million R&D program SunClean windows "self clean" through technology in the glass that breaks down organic dirt and provides a sheathing action when it rains that flushes the surface clean. PPG didn't invent the nanotechnology behind the process but worked for six years at its glass technology center in Harmarville to develop it to the stage where it could be marketed commercially, LeBoeuf said. SunClean windows, introduced in early 2002, are now available nationwide at Home Depot, Sears and Lowe's stores, and through window distributors nationwide.

Smart, clean surfaces Fed up with cleaning windows? A number of products are emerging on the market, which claim to be self-cleaning. Materials Today gets under the surface of the problem and finds out whether we can really consign cleaning materials to the bin.

Cerulean Product to Be Trialled by UK Bus Operator Cerulean International Limited, the Oxford, UK-based subsidiary of the British nanomaterials company Oxonica Limited, has announced that its new product Envirox is to be commercially evaluated by Stagecoach UK. The product delivers 10% fuel economy benefits, as well as reducing carbon deposits in the engine and lowering emissions.

Scanner made from semiconducting nanoparticles coatings Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. unveiled its nanoparticle-enabled biomedical optical scanner this week at the Society for Biomolecular Screening annual meeting here. The scanner was developed as part of a joint venture with Quantum Dot Corp. The optical scanner, developed by Mitsubishi's Panansonic unit, uses nanoparticles coded as genes in this initial biomedical application.

Nano tech promises to become a powerful crime fighter There's a new crime fighter out there. It doesn’t wear tights or swimming trunks, and it’s much smaller than a bird or a plane. More and more, the world's crime fighters are finding a way to employ nanotechnology in the battle to outwit criminals. Several technologies are either hitting the market, or are in the process of being developed for commercial use. Professor Anthony Turner, Head of Cranfield University at Silsoe in Britain, has come up with what some people call a lab on a chip.

The writing is off the wall The row over who will provide the anti-graffiti technology for Berlin's Holocaust memorial highlights a widespread and ancient problem. Víctor Castaño and his colleagues at the Autonomous National University of Mexico, in Santiago de Querétaro, believe they have a solution - a paint to which the daubings will not stick. Deletum 5000's special ingredient is silica. It is loaded with particles of the stuff that are but a few nanometres across. These particles have had both oil-repellent and water-repellent molecules attached to their surfaces.

Mercedes-Benz nano-particle clearcoat After four years of development work, a new clear lacquer is set to go into series production at Mercedes-Benz at the end of 2003. What the company terms ‘ground-breaking nano-technology’ ensures that the new product is substantially more scratch-resistant than conventional paint. The nano-particles provide a three-fold improvement in the scratch resistance of the paintwork and ensure visibly enhanced gloss over an extended period of time.